Things Remembered
by StereotypicallyAsian
Summary: After all, he came back with a purpose: to regain honor to the Uchiha name by rebuilding his clan in Konoha. He just wasn't sure if his current situation was supposed to make it easier or more difficult. Either way, Sasuke was annoyed. SasuSaku, NaruHina.
1. Things Decided

**Summary:** After all, he came back with a purpose: to regain honor to the Uchiha name by rebuilding his clan in Konoha. He just wasn't sure if his current situation was supposed to make it easier or more difficult. Either way, Sasuke was annoyed.

**A/N:** Whoa what what is this I'm back. I got the new Naruto game for the Playstation and totally got hooked again, in case anyone was wondering. I'm going to try to make it as canon as possible which is difficult seeing as I seriously skipped around a lot. I'm mostly caught up till the Great Ninja War and I have soooome ideas of what's up in the most recent chapters.

Oh yeah that also means there shall be major spoilers so either catch up or be spoiled!

* * *

One: Things Decided

Sasuke sat atop a tree branch near the Waterfall of Truth a few miles away from the his home village. He sighed. He was still contemplating whether or not he should follow through with coming back. When he looked ahead he could see the large gates of Konoha in the distance.

Despite staring right at his very origins, he felt like a complete outsider at this point. And no matter how many times Naruto and Sakura told him they would accept him with open arms no problem, he still found it hard to take another step forward. So he stomped off to the waterfall, frustrated at his own indecisiveness and fear.

He had been arguing with himself for at least three hours now. He was so sure of himself before he made his way towards Konohagakure after a month of wandering around, but now that he stood merely miles away, he began reevaluating his life decisions yet again. There was a part of him that was extremely hesitant about making the right choice because he hadn't exactly chosen the "right path" in years. He just wasn't that sure of himself anymore.

What would he be doing back in Konoha anyway?

Now that he was thinking about it, Sasuke wasn't sure why he was so afraid of stepping foot back into the village. First of all the great Uchiha Sasuke had never been afraid of doing anything in his whole life. He always faced dangers of every level head on. Second, it's not like he was still considered Konoha's number one public enemy. Towards the end of the war he had established some unspoken truce with Naruto and the rest of the Shinobi Alliance. He knew- he just felt it- that in that battle where they all stood united, all his wrongs were erased in their eyes. Well, almost all of them.

A month had passed since the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War. The weather began to become chilly. The sudden breeze that blew at him told him autumn was just leaving and winter was about to settle in. The last time he saw the faces of his former friends was a month ago.

_He entered the battle field gracefully, his remarkable timing was able to save Naruto and a few of his comrades. He stood up to full height in front of his blonde friend. _

"_S-Sasuke." the jinchuriki called out, his voice oozing with surprise and another emotion he couldn't quite recognize. A few more gasps and an, "Is that Sasuke?" accompanied his arrival. _

_He craned his neck slightly, enough to make eye contact. The corner of his lips turned up in a smirk, before he grunted, his infamous "Hn."_

_At once, Naruto's surprised face morphed into one of utter happiness and his resolve to defeat the enemy grew tenfold. A large grin formed on his face as both young men turned to face Kaguya once again._

He fought alongside Konoha against his own, Madara, and aided in the defeat of the legendary Ten Tails. At first some speculated that Sasuke was just in it for his own personal benefits: he probably wanted the power of Shinju for himself, or more fear and supremacy to his name. But as the war ended people began to realize that, like the once feuding villages, the war had changed everyone's motives. They were all human.

Even the cold avenger, Uchiha Sasuke.

_He was panting hard. There was a strip of blood that ran down the side of his face. The entire left side of his body was aching as he tried to get back up. When he laid back instead, he let out a breath he had been holding and closed his eyes. _

_It was over. _

_Kaguya and Madara were finally defeated. When he turned to his right he saw a familiar face laying next to him, also breathing heavily. _

"_We did it." The blonde panted, turning to look at him. He tried to move his face into a smile but the pain radiating through his entire body made him grimace instead. There was a moment of silence before he regained enough energy to speak again. "Does this mean you're…"_

_Sasuke turned away from Naruto and looked up, frowning. No. No, of course not. There was no way he was returning to Konoha and he knew it. He had no reason to and he certainly did not want to return to the place it all started. Absolutely not._

"_Yes."_

_At this Naruto sat up and looked at him, trying to fight off yet another large grin on his face. Sasuke followed, grunting at the pain as he sat up. He glimpsed at his best friend's stupidly large smile and scoffed. There was no way out of this one anymore._

"_Hn."_

Sasuke took off without another word, and without talking to anyone else. He needed some time to himself. He didn't need to tell him when he would be back. They didn't need to know that right now. But after the war ended he pretty much disappeared again. He wasn't exactly sure how people would take his seemingly indecisive attitude either.

"Man, why can't he just make up his mind!?"

"Uchiha? He probably won't even stay. Give him a few months."

"I wonder if he knows it's bad for his reputation."

He sighed and hopped down from the tree and sat in the middle of the clearing. The sound of the rushing waterfall seemed to calm his nerves a little.

Although his whereabouts have been unknown for the last month he wasn't just dicking around. Sasuke had been wandering the outskirts of Konoha and enjoying the peaceful forests (or what was left of it), contemplating his life so far. Just last week he attempted to tap into the chakra deep inside him to contact his older brother- to no avail. He ended up destroying a tree in anger instead.

He thought about his encounters with Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi since he left Konoha five years ago. He remembered the first time they met again and they had looked like they hadn't even changed since he left.

"_Sasuke-teme! I'm taking you back no matter what!"_

"_Sasuke-kun please come home!"_

The voices of these kids that held him back when he was 12 echoed in his mind. He shut his eyes tighter trying to shake those memories off.

He remembered the next few times they met. Something seemed different about them then. Perhaps it was just the fact that he lost his own cool and wasn't exactly focused on the wellbeing of his former teammates. He was too busy spiraling into the madness and succumbing to the darkness of revenge.

"_Sakura, you were planning to kill Sasuke on your own, weren't you?"_

"_Fight me, Sasuke." Naruto stepped closer and Sasuke activated his sharingan. His eyes throbbed. "I need to know what to do now," He pulled out a kunai from his pouch "and you have the answer."_

Pain and anger filled his heart for a moment. He gritted his teeth angrily.

_Sasuke backed up into a corner, eyes widened with fear. He could barely move from exhaustion and was fighting to hold onto dear life. Everything hurt, but his mind was focused on his slowly approaching brother. Itachi continued to advance, slowly but surely, until he was merely two feet away. _

_He reached up with two fingers and Sasuke gasped loudly. When his bloodied fingers made contact with his little brother's forehead, he breathed out slowly._

"_Sorry, Sasuke...but this is it."_

The youngest Uchiha became desperate to calm himself down now as painful memories began flooding his conscious. Voices of people he ever cared about called out to him.

"_Sasuke…why?" Karin uttered her last words to her as she fell beside Danzo._

"_I'm sorry, Sasuke." His older brother fell ungracefully beside him. _

"_Sasuke, don't!" Kakashi frantically yelled as he grabbed Sakura's collar, preparing to kill her._

_Naruto stepped forward. "Don't do this, Sasuke." _

_He wasn't facing her but he heard her quiet sobs, "Sasuke-kun, please don't go." _

He felt his heart sink and his stomach flip upside down before his eyes quickly shot open. What used to be a waterfall in front of him was now a blinding white light. He stood up frantically and turned around.

"Itachi…"

Sasuke froze in fear and disbelief when he saw none other than his older brother standing before him. He was dressed in his old ninja clothes, without the Akatsuki cloak and headband. His eyes were brighter than he remembered, and he wore a small smile on his face.

"It's been a while, Sasuke." The young man was at loss for words. Not only was he not sure where he was and why his brother was here, but he had a hundred thousand things to tell Itachi, and he wasn't sure where to start.

Sasuke opened his mouth to yell at him. Anger swelled in his heart as he truly felt like Itachi caused him to live a life of poor decisions and hatred, all for nothing. But instead, his voice softened and desperation escaped his lips, "What do I do?"

Itachi closed his eyes and chuckled, earning a confused and annoyed look from his brother. "Tell me, Otouto," he walked towards him slowly. Sasuke made no move to retreat. "Why have you done the things you have done?"

"Hatred and vengeance." He answered easily, frowning. In retrospect, he wasn't exactly proud of his lifestyle recently.

"And where has that gotten you?" He closed his eyes and didn't answer. Itachi stood two feet from him, looking down softly. He seemed so calm and happy Sasuke wasn't sure how to react to all of this. He wasn't used to people talking so softly to him anymore. Especially not his brother. "My goal from the beginning was your safety and your life. Maybe some of the things I did along the way are not things I should be proud of, but in the end, I got what I wanted. You're okay."

Sasuke looked up at him. "Well, mostly." He laughed softly again.

Then something in him clicked. The reason Itachi had went through all the trouble just to protect his little brother was a simple one. He loved him. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. The older man seemed to understand Sasuke's sudden epiphany. He lifted his fingers and gently poked his forehead. A strange sense of nostalgia filled Sasuke.

"Let love guide your path from here." Sasuke seemed to stop breathing. "Don't let any more hatred cause you to lose sight of that."

"Nii-san…"

"Take care, Sasuke." The image of his brother began to fade into the white light and Sasuke reached forward. Itachi smiled warmly, "I'm proud of you."

When he opened his eyes again he was back in front of the rushing waters. He inhaled deeply and finally relaxed, as sense of peace flowing through him. To be honest he truly _was_ tired of making decisions based on sticking his sword through all his problems and acting so spontaneously.

One thing was for sure though. Sasuke decided to come back with a purpose: to regain honor to the Uchiha name by rebuilding the clan in Konoha. Not through eradicating the entire shinobi population out of anger and hate. Not through ending the Uchiha bloodline by removing the last member from Earth, himself…but through starting new and showing everyone there are such things as new beginnings.

He exited the clearing and began walking slowly towards the gates.

Unfortunately like most of his spontaneous ideas, he wasn't exactly sure how to go about living of love and peace. It was a selfless and constructive mission and he had learned to associate life with selfishness and destruction for the past twelve years. But with each step he took, his pace quickened and his determination to right all his wrongs grew. He continued to pick up the pace, Itachi's words and smile replaying in his head, and before he knew it he reached the gates. He immediately halted and took a deep breath.

"_Sasuke-kun you're back!" genin Sakura ran towards him at full speed, tears streaming down her face. She was intercepted by a small blonde in orange also screaming his name._

When he opened his eyes again he exhaled slowly and pushed the large gate open.

* * *

Disclaimer: Yeah 5 years later and I still don't own Naruto. I know, guys, I'm sorry. I tried. I will truly try to finish this one though. So yay show me some love and review (:


	2. Things Feared

Two: Things Feared

Sasuke stood quietly in the middle of the Hokage office. Five minutes had gone by and he was still just watching the Hokage write furiously without a word. He was surrounded by at least 15 ANBU and Jounin. All eyes were on him, and normally he wouldn't have minded this so much. If anything he would have a smug grin on his face, humored by how people thought they could take on him. But given his position, it was beginning to make him a little uncomfortable.

His journey from the gates to the Hokage mansion felt a lot like a walk of shame. Every step was accompanied with a gasp and some snide or incredulous comment. He didn't care much at first, but it got really old really fast.

"Is…is that the Uchiha kid? What is he doing _here_?"

"Stay away from him, son. He's no good."

"Please, I don't know what his deal is. As if he would ever become Hokage."

Nevertheless he kept his eyes forward and continued to walk. He learned not to make eye contact, for the first few times he did, people drew out their weapons and backed up.

_So this is what it feels like to be a rogue criminal. _Despite the weight of pain and eyes looking down on him, Sasuke managed to laugh at the irony. Maybe he should have just stayed when they still welcomed him with open arms. Now the entire village was looking at him with such disdain like he singlehandedly destroyed the village.

Sure he planned to, but it's not like he ever followed through.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Tsunade let his name slowly roll off her tongue, finally livening up everyone in the room. The young man's eyes returned to the Hokage as she let out a low laugh. "What brings you back here?"

Sasuke wasn't sure what to say, which was a first for him. "I returned to make Konoha my home once again."

The slug princess chuckled again and leaned back into her seat. "I thought you wanted my position. I thought you were still power hungry and stupid." When he had nothing to say she sat up seriously again. She tried to sound intimidating, but in reality she just wanted to see how the Uchiha would react. "And what makes you think you're welcome here?"

For a moment almost everyone in the room was sure Sasuke was plotting something, and he was finally busted. But when he sighed in resignation and replied with a simple "I'm not sure right now," everyone was taken aback.

"You are aware that all the crimes you have committed up to this point are punishable by death, right? Exile at the least."

Sasuke nodded but still made no move to leave or quit. He seemed pretty set on staying. Tsunade studied him carefully: his body seemed relaxed and he showed no sign of acting out of line. His cold eyes were visible but they looked more lively than she remembered. His chakra seemed normal and his voice was calm. He seemed a lot less hostile too. There was nothing unusual about him.

Maybe something really did change in him.

After studying him closely, Tsunade concluded perhaps he truly was being sincere about returning to Konoha. "Hm," she crossed her arms. "Why Konoha? Why not Otogakure where you stayed with Orochimaru? Or Amegakure where the remaining Akatsuki settled after the war?"

Sure, Oto would probably be less hostile towards him, and the Hidden Rain village probably wouldn't have cared if he stayed there, but something about the loneliness and isolation, for once, seemed repelling to Sasuke.

When he didn't answer again Tsunade sighed. "I can't help you if you don't say anything, Uchiha." Sasuke took note of the use of his last name. He seemed to have annoyed her, he guessed, which was not good for his current situation.

"My friends are here," was the first thing that came to mind. The Hokage's eyes widened and a strange smile appeared on her face.

"That's rich, coming from you, Sasuke!" she laughed heartily. "I wonder what brought this drastic change in you, lad." The remaining ninja in the room began shifting uncomfortably until one spoke up on everyone's behalf.

"Hokage-sama," he bowed. "Why do you speak to a criminal so cordially?" Sasuke grimaced at the word 'criminal'. Even if he can accept that he had made very poor choices in the past, hearing it still felt odd.

Tsunade turned to the concerned man. "He's just a boy, Aoba. He has a whole life ahead of him. Konoha is a place of new beginnings now. Our goal to rebuild this village begins with learning to accept people with bad pasts, and extending a hand to help them become one of us. Or in this case, join us again." She smiled brightly, "Isn't that what Naruto has taught us?"

Sasuke relaxed and the people behind him sighed in defeat. She turned to the boy again. "You have to get used to everyone eyeing you like that for a little while. People are still getting the hang of all this change around here."

Another jounin spoke up, this time Sasuke recognized the voice. "What are your plans for him, Tsunade-sama?"

"Well, Konoha is under a lot of reconstruction and business right now. We cannot afford to waste any troops that could be used for other purposes, just to babysit him." Tsunade pondered for a second. "He'll stay with you."

Sasuke turned around to see his former silver-haired sensei simply nod in agreement.

"B-but, Hokage-sama!"

"No buts!" She slammed a fist on the desk. Everyone jumped and quieted down. "Don't question my decisions right now." She waved a hand to dismiss the group. When they were gone she exhaled loudly, "Shizune bring me some sake please. It's been a long day."

* * *

Kakashi gently turned down the heat on the boiling pot of tea and carefully poured its contents into two cups. Sasuke sat on an extra futon on the floor, studying the small house. "I bet you're itching to see Naruto again."

"Hn." The boy merely grunted, taking the cup that was offered to him.

"I know you've gotten more talkative than that, Sasuke."

Sasuke took a small sip and felt the warm liquid run down his stomach. It had been a while since he last had a proper meal or drink. It felt very welcoming. He supposed he should try to make conversation with Kakashi. If he was going to win everyone over again he might as well start with his former sensei. "How is everyone?"

"Good." He sat down across from him. "Mostly. You know there have been quite a few losses around here."

"Anyone I knew in particular?"

"Neji almost didn't make it."

"Hyuuga?" Sasuke looked at him disbelievingly for a second. Kakashi nodded. He held some respect for the powerful Hyuuga. Knowing he could be defeated reminded him of the mortality of humans. He should consider himself lucky he has lived up to this point.

"Gai's team took it pretty hard. His teammates have vowed to work a thousand times as hard to keep the rest of their friends and family safe. I mean, you know how Lee goes." He chuckled and Sasuke snickered.

"The rest of your classmates made it out alive and just fine though." Kakashi wasn't sure if he saw some relief in Sasuke's eyes. He continued anyway. "I don't know if you knew, but Gaara was the commander in chief of the Shinobi Alliance. It was a very demanding job, but if it weren't for him we wouldn't be where we are now."

"What happened to Shikamaru's team?" Sasuke found it odd to be asking about his former classmates. But something about it brought a slight sense of nostalgia.

"Shikamaru works as a jounin with his own team now. He's following Asuma's footsteps. He stops by here and there along with Ino and Chouji to help take care of Kurenai's child."

"That's nice." Sasuke managed to state. "What happened to Team Kurenai?"

"Kiba now leads the Inuzuka clan while Shino continues to help Konoha. Hinata has been working under Shizune and Sakura in the hospital as well as going on missions to rebuild Konoha and the other villages. Her encounter with Pein has had a drastic change on her character. I'm sure you can ask Naruto about that though.

"Your teammates are doing well too, if you were wondering." Kakashi started, unsure of how he would react. "Sai is training to be an ANBU. He said he wants to take on more S ranked missions because he claims the easy ones have bored him." Kakashi paused to laugh quietly. "Naruto and Sakura always used to laugh at how uncanny the resemblance was."

"…Hn." Sasuke closed his eyes and took another sip. Something tugged at his heart at hearing how he was replaced. He frowned internally when he realized he had let something as trivial as that bother him.

Kakashi finished the last of his drink. "Oh, speaking of Sakura, she and Naruto-"

"I'll see them again." Sasuke finally spoke up, cutting him short, much to Kakashi's surprise. He watched the young man finish his own drink, but the look in his eyes explained the sudden interruption. He wanted to see for himself how his teammates were doing. Kakashi smiled at the thought. Sasuke was growing soft, but he knew he wouldn't admit that.

"Well, make yourself at home." He took the two cups and set them in the sink and turned off the lights. "We're glad to have you back, Sasuke."

* * *

Sakura exhaled in relief as the patient that lay in front of her began breathing again. She relaxed her chakra and stepped back smiling. "Welcome back." She told him. The ninja sat up carefully. "Take it easy for the next few days. If you feel anything unusual come back and see me, okay?"

"Thanks," Kiba smiled gratefully.

"So how's Hinata?" she asked, still writing on his documents.

"She's fine. Enjoying the time she has with Naruto before he becomes extra busy as the new Hokage."

"Ehh? No way!"

"Yeah, you don't know?" When Sakura frowned and shook her head he continued, "She heard from Tsunade herself on her last mission." Sakura inwardly scowled. She was Tsunade's apprentice, why wasn't she first to know all the juicy events going on around Konoha lately? Then again for the last month she had been stuck in the hospital in charge of running everything. But with the help of Ino and occasionally Hinata, she was able to nurse nearly the whole village back to health. Not that she was complaining. After all, she had requested to remain in the in the hospital. "Don't tell him though, it's supposed to be a surprise. As soon as all the major repairs are done with Konoha, Tsunade plans on handing her position over to him. There's still some time though."

"Mmmm," Sakura growled. "I need to get out more."

Kiba laughed heartily. "Ne, what do you say I take you out to lunch on your break sometime?" she looked up to see a grin on his face.

"Really?"

"Yeah, why not? You deserve it." He then gestured to all the bandages covering his limbs. "As soon as I'm all healed up."

Sakura smiled in agreement. "So what else do you know that I don't?" she asked, half jokingly.

Kiba thought for a moment. "Well, Sasuke is back." He watched her face go from calm and relaxed to suddenly distressed, scared, and something else he couldn't quite decipher. He sighed, he should have expected this. "Everyone's been talking about it."

* * *

**A/N:** Hey guys! Follow, fav, review; any feedback keeps me going. Otherwise I'm like, "who am I writing this for? ):"  
I couldn't kill Neji off by the way. That's the only canon thing I'm deviating from, as far as I know. I didn't have the heart to do it.


	3. Things Avoided

Three: Things Avoided

"Will an escort mission suffice?"

"Is there anything that will take longer?"

Tsunade let out an exasperated sigh as she pulled out a stack of folders and set them on top of her current work. She looked through the folders of available missions. Sakura stood in front of her desk anxiously, ready to leave. She knew exactly why her apprentice was acting so anxious. It didn't take a genius to know why she was so eager to leave shortly after the news of Sasuke's return spread around the village.

"How about helping the Sunagakure hospital back to its feet?" Tsunade opened the folder titled _"B ranked missions"_ and read the details. "I think sending over our top medical nin over there should help strengthen our relationship with Suna."

"What will I be doing to help?"

"There is some construction on the building to be done, although I'm not sure if you need to take part in that. You mainly have to train some medical interns and help make sure the efficiency at the hospital is ideal." The Hokage flipped through the folder.

"Based on the current progress so far in Suna, this mission should only take about three more weeks." When she sensed Sakura tense up she continued, "But it's the longest mission I have available for you right now. We still need you at the hospital here."

Sakura pondered for a moment, but nodded her head. She didn't want to push her luck with this favor. Tsunade was already being understanding about her taking a hiatus.

When Sakura seemed extremely relieved and excited, Tsunade laughed, "Did I really raise you to be a coward, Haruno? I thought I taught you to face all your problems head on," The girl shifted uncomfortably. "with your fist."

"This one's a little different." She couldn't help but laugh.

"I thought you've been waiting for his return since you were 12? Isn't that why you asked me to train you?"

Sakura blushed heavily and looked down. "Shishou, please. I'm not ready."

Tsunade looked up at the girl in front of her. The longer she stared the more she saw the nervousness in her pupil. She wondered why she was even letting her go. There were other things more important than Sakura's long anticipated (and apparently feared) reunion with Sasuke. She had responsibilities she was running away from in the process of avoiding the Uchiha.

But, she thought, she had seen her little girl fight in the war. She had changed so much since she started training with the Hokage. She was no longer that helpless, dependent little girl who asked to be trained five years ago. She deserved a break. Besides, she was being productive on her little escape anyway.

"I expect you back in three weeks. Keep me updated."

She straightened up. "Hai."

* * *

When Sasuke woke up he felt a strange sense of happiness in his stomach and chest. Like it was a good day. He was so used to waking up every morning on cold hard stone he called a bed and remembering all the negativity from the previous day. So when he slowly sat up on the soft futon and looked around to see the familiar scene of Kakashi's house and Konoha out the window, he took a deep breath and happily exhaled. He was home again, the war was over, and every day that passed he felt more and more peace within him.

It would still take some time for Sasuke to adjust to this new life of his. First of all there was the being accepted by the villagers ordeal. Wherever he went he still got hostile glares and people talking behind his back, but they no longer whipped out weapons and told their children to shield their eyes from him.

Sasuke poured himself some warm tea, a habit he picked up from living with Kakashi for the last week.

The only thing that was starting to bug him was that he hasn't seen much of Naruto and Sakura lately. Every time he asked someone about Naruto they would say they just saw him leaving for a mission, or they didn't know. Likewise whenever he asked about Sakura they would give him weird looks.

"_Why does he keep asking for Haruno?"_

"_Beats me. I wonder what he wants with her."_

He gently nudged the Jounin in the other bed awake. "I'm going for a walk."

As much as it annoyed Sasuke he had to abide by the conditions of his return. He was to have Kakashi watch over him in everything he did in addition to living with this former sensei. It could be worse though, he mused. He could be under stricter watch. Or when she said "former sensei" she could have meant Orochimaru. He had to admit, Tsunade was being very generous to him.

Kakashi rolled over and groaned but sat up. "It's 5 in the morning."

"I'm aware."

Sasuke waited by the door patiently, hands in his pocket. He had a habit of being up and about before Konoha woke up- something his paranoia had taught him. And with nothing to do around the village due to his probation, he killed time by taking walks, meditating, and visiting the local library. It felt weird living like a normal person, but it also offered a nice break.

He couldn't wait to get back into training though. He had healed quickly within the last week and was itching to get off his butt and get active again. He had already gotten several offers from Bushy Brows, and Neji was pretty eager to see how he has improved since the last time they saw each other.

His life was indeed beginning to feel like his old life in Konoha.

When Kakashi was finally ready they headed down the streets. These last couple days Kakashi had become lax about Sasuke's daily routines. He mostly trusted the boy, but remained by his side on the Hokage's orders, and to keep him some company. They occasionally had short talks, but the former ANBU figured the boy just wanted his space sometimes.

Sasuke looked up and saw a small distinct orange figure running towards them.

"Naruto." He stopped him as soon as he got close enough.

"Aah, Sasuke! Kaka-sensei!" he smiled brightly. "Ne, Sasuke, I'd love to stay and talk but I'm kind of busy right now."

They both looked at him strangely. "It's barely 6 am."

"I know that." His face fell. "I ran out of milk so I'm headed to get groceries."

Sasuke sighed. "I just want to know where Sakura is."

"Eh?" he looked at his friend, confused. "Actually I was just looking for Sakura-chan yesterday. She's not at home or at the hospital. She might be on a mission, I'm not sure."

When Sasuke grunted and looked down, hands still in his pocket looking like a child who just got candy stolen from him, Naruto laughed and put both hands behind his head. "Why, do you miss her?" Kakashi chuckled in the back.

"Tch," Sasuke looked away. "Dobe."

"You know, she has changed a lot, Sasuke. She's not what you remember."

"I know."

Naruto got serious again. "No it's more than what you've seen too. Yeah she totally kicked ass fighting Kaguya with us but she's matured more than you and me these last couple years."

Sasuke seemed to be thinking, but when he felt their stares on him, he shifted in his spot. "When do you think she will be back?"

"Geez aren't you a chatterbox today?"

Glare.

"I don't know. Ask baa-chan."

Sasuke sighed and thanked Naruto anyway. "No problem," Naruto started walking past him again, "Be good, 'ttebayo!"

"Hn."

* * *

_Stupid Sasuke._

Sakura nearly slipped on another tree branch and inwardly scowled. If there was anything she hated about traveling on missions it was the fact that the silence and trip length always gave her time to think and reflect. And whenever something was bothering her, it would bother her twice as much. She couldn't wait to get to Suna. At least then she would be distracted by her mission.

She knew she couldn't avoid him forever. She didn't plan to anyway. She knew she would have to talk to him again when she got back. She just wasn't sure how to handle it.

Part of her was pretty annoyed that he just decided to waltz back into her life after everything that went down since he left. It felt like he was ready to just drop all the bad memories too. The other part of her was relieved that when he finally decided to settle down, he decided to settle down where she was.

Still, Sakura wasn't sure how their relationship would even work once she was ready to face him again. Would they just pick up where they left off from five years ago? Or would they have to start from scratch?

Would _she_ just pretend nothing bad has happened between them?

If she was going to be honest with herself, she did miss him, a lot. No matter how hard she tried to push him out of her life, thinking there was no way he would come back to her, she just couldn't do it.

She had even tried "moving on", as Ino called it. For the last year Sakura had gotten used to accepting the affection of other boys (something she never did back then).

Sakura was intelligent, beautiful, and talented. She had a good chunk of Konoha's single men chasing after her. Even Gaara from the Sand Village admitted she had grown up from her cute adolescence. They would give her gifts and take her out on dates. Her mother even had a few favorites from her list of suitors.

But even to her dismay, none of them got past the third date. Sasuke was still her number one. But what could she do about that? She knew she had to keep trying to move on, and sure enough eventually she was able to convince herself that maybe her destiny was with another man.

She jumped to the nearest tree and angrily shattered it with a punch. Why did he have to come back after she had finally convinced herself that she could not have him?

"Ugh." She brushed the debris off her glove. "Stupid Sasuke."

* * *

**A/N: **I'm still getting their thoughts and feelings sorted out so these last couple chapters may have been a little dull. I know this is short. I really wanted the suspense to build for poor Saucy too bwahaha. No worries though it's about to get interesting!


	4. Things Anticipated

Four: Things Anticipated

Two weeks into her mission Sakura decided maybe she should plan out her expected rendezvous with Sasuke. After all, the last thing she wanted was to make a fool out of herself the first time they truly meet and talk again. She was happily sorting out the files of her medic nin in training when she sunk into deep thought.

Sakura wasn't even afraid Sasuke would reject her again. She wasn't anticipating him to murmur a "Hn, you're annoying" or a "Tch, you're weak" under his breath and walk away like he used to after she greets him enthusiastically. She knew after the war she had earned some sort of respect from the former Team 7, especially Sasuke who seemed surprised more than anything that she had grown so much.

What she was afraid of was looking into his cold, dark eyes again for the first time in five years and remembering everything she had felt for him. She was afraid all the hurt would come back and she would fall for him all over again.

Sakura grunted in annoyance as she accidentally knocked over a pile of folders.

In all honesty it's not like she even got over him to begin with. If anything she was only capable of pushing those old feelings aside, given there were other things and people around to distract her.

But she knew for a fact, that as soon as she got close to him again, she would be in for a very hard time.

Part of Sakura wondered why she was even anticipating all of this. Sure Sasuke was in the village again, but what even made her think he was there to stay, let alone want to talk to her again? For all she knew he was only stopping by to see Naruto and Kakashi.

But even if there was the possibility that she wouldn't have to deal with him when she came home, it was better safe than sorry.

She stood up straight and imagined a stoic Sasuke in front of her. "Sasuke, it's good to see you again."

Okay, so far so good.

"I'm glad you're back. Even though we've been through some rough times, Konoha and I welcome you with open arms. I hope we can be friends again and maybe in time-"

"Sakura,"

She jumped and turned around. "Kazekage-sama!"

"Refer to me as you used to." He smiled at her slightly.

"How are you, Gaara?" she returned a smile.

"I'm well. How's the hospital?"

"Great!" He stepped closer and she pushed a stray strand of hair from her face. "I'm training a group of fast learners and they seem to love what they're doing."

"That's good to hear." He uncrossed his arms and looked at the papers she was holding.

"Did I interrupt something?" he asked calmly. Sakura fidgeted with the papers she was holding. Eventually she calmed down under his curious stare.

"No, no." she stepped around the desk to greet him. "Did you need something?"

"Are you busy?"

"Not at all."

"Would you like to go get lunch?" she saw him hesitate a little and maybe it was just her, but his cheeks seemed to turn the slightest hint of pink. She couldn't help but smile.

"Sure."

* * *

Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he stood by the fences leading to the training field, waiting for Naruto. He honestly felt very comforted by this. Out of everything, this might have been the thing that gave him the most "at home" feeling.

"Oi, Sasuke!" He turned at the sound of the blonde's approaching voice. "Sorry I'm late, I sprained my ankle on the way here and I tried looking for Sakura-chan at the hospital."

"What?" he asked. The only thing he really heard from that story was "Sakura-chan".

Naruto looked at him funny. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he closed his eyes, brushing all of that aside.

"Anyway she's still not back, so her new assistant, Mikasa had to take care of me." He stood up on his tip toes to test the pain on his ankle. "Frankly, I prefer Sakura-chan's work. Mikasa left a couple ligaments out of place."

When he mentioned her name again Sasuke's attention returned to him.

Then for a split second Sasuke became morbidly curious and couldn't stop himself from asking, "Are you still pursuing a relationship with her?"

"…huh?"

"With Sakura." He looked at him straight in the eye. Naruto found it both intimidating and humorous. "Do you still love her?"

"Well yeah of course," Naruto straightened his posture and looked at his best friend strangely. He was really acting out of character today, he decided. He seemed to be frowning. "but like a sister. So don't you get any ideas and try anything funny or I'll kick your ass."

Sasuke completely disregarded the last part. But something in him suddenly felt calmer. Like an obstacle was cleared for him. He didn't have to worry about Naruto's affections for Sakura getting in the way of her devoting her time to him again.

He felt his cheeks warm up so he shook it off. "Hn."

"Besides, I have a girlfriend."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he watched Naruto's face go from calm to looking as if he had left his stove on and he could see the flames and smoke of his house from where they stood.

"Oh shit, Hinata. I totally forgot!"

"Dobe."

"I'm sorry, teme, maybe some other time!" he took off back into the village. Sasuke watched him in complete disbelief. Naruto actually chose to do something else over fighting him. Sasuke sighed in defeat. He was really looking forward to kick Naruto's butt again.

* * *

"Itadakimasu!"

Hinata dug into her food as soon as Ayame placed the large bowl in front of her. Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at how comfortable she has gotten around him.

"Hungry?" he asked, grinning. She turned to him, mouth full, her cheeks slowly getting darker.

When she swallowed, she spoke up. "Ano…I skipped the weekly clan meeting this afternoon so I haven't eaten all day."

Naruto watched her eat. Something about her seemed a little off. "Why?"

"They've been discussing the same issue for a while now," she seemed annoyed, keeping her eyes forward as she ate. "They're debating whether or not I should be the new clan leader, or Neji-nii."

"You see," she wiped her mouth with a napkin and turned her attention to him. "They want to keep the Hyuuga bloodline pure. And by tradition, the head of the clan must be male. If I get married, my husband, who would be from outside the clan, would take over and they don't want that. However, the other half of my clan believes I am capable and deserving of the position." She frowned at the end of her explanation. "It's complicated."

Naruto thought for a moment. He too had watched Hinata change so much in the last year. He grew to admire her and before he knew it he found his stomach doing flips whenever he saw her, the same way it used to when he was around Sakura back then.

"So when we get married, Neji becomes the clan leader?" he asked out of curiosity.

Hinata nearly choked on her food. "W-what?" She hadn't stuttered in a long time as far as he could remember.

"I mean yeah, you're my girlfriend now right?" he seemed just as confused for a second.

"I-I…I didn't-"

"Oh."

"Naruto-kun…we haven't even asked for my father's blessing." He looked scared. "N-no! He wouldn't say no!" She reassured him. "Please don't worry."

"Okay, okay I'm sorry." He looked down for a second. Now that he thought about it, Naruto had never embarrassed himself in front of her until now. He had to pull his foot out of his mouth.

After the war they started hanging out more, and he was slowly growing fond of the idea of Hinata always being by his side. Her presence was very calming to him, and it became hard for him to focus on anything when she was around. He looked forward to coming home from missions to be greeted by her, and he made it a habit to walk her home from her shifts at the hospital.

Despite that, she was right. They never actually talked about their relationship. As far as Hinata thought, they were just _really_ close friends. The last thing she expected was to assume they were practically engaged.

"Well I think it's about time I go ask him." Hinata blushed. Mature Naruto was cute, she mused.

"Naruto-kun…" she smiled fondly at him. It surpassed her dreams when she was younger for Naruto to take a relationship with her very seriously. But she frowned, remembering the conflict with her clan. "Now isn't the time."

He pondered for a moment. "How about we talk to Neji? Maybe he can give us his two cents on the issue."

Hinata hesitated for a moment, but turned back to her food. "Can we eat first? I'm still starving." The blonde laughed heartily.

"Itadakimasu!"

* * *

Tenten sighed happily, looking down at her stash of newly sharpened and polished weapons. It had been a while since she was able to relax and clean up her tools. Beside her sat Neji, his eyes focused on a taijutsu scroll Lee let him borrow.

"You should read about weapons," she joked. "You're already good at all of that."

He smiled slightly. "I know how to use weapons."

"Oh really, Mr. Hotshot?" she wiped clean a small sword looking thing that had three blades on one end and showed him. "What's this called?"

He looked at her for a moment and then turned back to his scroll. "I'm reading, ask me later." She laughed and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I missed this." she sighed again. "It's so peaceful." Neji didn't say anything, but her words gave him some sort of comfort. It had been a long time- and it felt even longer- since they were able to just sit and hang out together. It's been even longer since the two were able to enjoy some time together alone without Lee and Gai screaming in the back.

"Sasuke is back." He stated out of nowhere.

"Hm?" she looked at him, surprised. "And?"

Neji closed the scroll and slowly turned to her. "I don't know," he watched her expression carefully. She seemed happy. "I want to train with him."

In less than a second she looked upset and was all up in his face, "Eh?! What do you mean you want to train with Sasuke?!" Neji flinched. "You're barely healed!"

"Tenten," a vein twitched in his head. "I'm fine."

"Oh yeah?" she pouted. He chuckled. "Get up then."

He suddenly frowned and turned away. "I don't need to." She 'hmph-ed' and started picked up another dull weapon to clean. Neji sighed and gently rested his hand on her shoulder. "I appreciate your help, Tenten. But you don't have to be so protective. I'm fine."

She turned to him and suddenly he couldn't read her face. When she wouldn't speak he began to get intimidated. It seemed like forever until she opened her mouth to talk.

"I almost lost you," she started. Her voice was shaky and Neji immediately regretted telling her off. "and you tell me not to worry?"

"Tenten." She shook her head and turned her attention back to her work. He sighed in defeat.

"Neji!" they heard a faint voice from the other side of the door, followed by a "Shhhh!" and a knock.

He opened the door to see his cousin with Naruto. "Hey, can we talk?"

* * *

**A/N: **Quick filler chapter to satisfy my miscellaneous feels for the other ships. You're in for a treat for the next chapter though (laughs maniacally).

Quick question for all my readers! Answer in a review or PM: What draws you to read a story? Is it the summary, the first chapter, the number of reviews, or follows/favs? Don't be afraid, I like talking to people (:


	5. Things Forgotten

Five: Things Forgotten

When Tsunade summoned Sasuke for a mission he expected something exciting that would give him an adrenaline rush like an assassination or saving a cat from a tree. He definitely did not see himself spending the day painting houses. Perhaps he wouldn't have minded doing such easy, trivial chores too, but he had been stuck with this task all week.

His first two weeks were even quieter. He spent every waking moment of the first week with Kakashi on his back, and a couple other secret guard ninja (he totally knew though). Tsunade let him shake off the extra guard ninja by the second week. He was even allowed to go to the training fields as long as he had supervision. Kakashi slowly gave him more freedom by the end of the second week, he returned to his own daily schedule and missions.

Third week he was allowed to take on small missions here and there to help finish rebuilding Konoha. As unexciting as they were he was pretty happy to be accepted back into the village again. In fact, his probation should have taken longer under normal circumstances, but given that Konoha needed all the help it could get, even Sasuke was allowed to help out. Nonetheless, he was happy to be serving the leaf again. Of course, he wouldn't admit that to anyone.

It was still bothering him, however, that the most interaction he got with Naruto was an occasional conversation. Or he would see him in the Hokage's office as they would pick up mission assignments, but the most he ever got out of it was an "oi teme" due to Konoha's demand for the blonde.

That, and he still hadn't seen any trace of Sakura at all.

He was beginning to considering bugging the Hokage about her whereabouts. His patience was wearing thin; he was not pleased. If there was anything he hated more than people getting in his way, it was waiting.

Uchiha Sasuke always got what he wanted when he wanted, even if he had to make it happen himself.

Ever since his encounter with Naruto he could not stop anticipating how his reunion with Sakura would go. To be honest he wasn't even sure what he would say to her; some part of him just wanted to see her again to complete this "at home" feeling. And honestly, up until this point he thought once he saw her again she would just start crying and throw herself at him without second thoughts.

Sasuke finished an old lady's house, who thanked him gratefully. He smiled and headed to Kakashi's to put the paint away. As he's walking he spots a familiar orange blob again headed his way. He sidestepped a little to block his path.

"Oi, Naruto."

He stopped in his tracks. "Ne, Sasuke!" He always seemed to be pretty excited about seeing Sasuke around, even though they barely had the time to hang out.

"Is Sakura still not back?"

"No actually, I was just about to stop for lunch and then head over to Sunagakure to go get her." Oh, so that's where she was hiding. "Baa-chan sent her over to help out at their hospital about three weeks ago and we need her back today."

Perhaps it was force of habit, but Sasuke was pretty damn good at sensing perfect opportunities and seizing them.

"I'll go for you."

"Ehh? Tsunade-sama will get angry." Naruto looked at him with a mix of surprise and confusion. "I need to get on her good side, 'ttebayo!"

"She doesn't have to know. Let me go in your place." Naruto looked at him and saw some sort of desperation, something he had never quite seen in his best friend before.

He sighed. "Fine. But you have to bring her back no matter what she says, baa-chan says so." Naruto then laughed at the irony of the situation.

"Thanks."

Sasuke handed him the buckets of paint. Naruto scowled. "You're pushing it."

* * *

Sakura stepped outside, breathing in some fresh air. She turned around to look at the hospital one last time, admiring her work. She had trained a total of 13 new medical ninjas within the last 3 weeks and helped with a few construction projects around the building, adding a new wing for other patients.

She tightened her backpack and was about to head out when Gaara called out to her.

"Thank you again, Haruno Sakura."

"You're welcome, Gaara." Sakura grinned. "Are you sure you won't need me anymore?"

"You have done more than enough." He assured her, but then looked at her funny. "Do you not want to go back home?" She didn't reply, but only nervously chuckled.

"Sunagakure would love to have you stay." He promised. Sakura sighed but smiled.

"Konoha needs me too. But thank you."

Her smile died out though when she noticed a figure behind him. It was replaced with a look of utter fear and surprise. Gaara turned around to see Sasuke, dressed in his usual attire, hand rested on the sword on his back. Something seemed off about him, Gaara thought, he seemed less malicious. Nevertheless he stood defensively in front of Sakura. "Stay back."

Sasuke looked annoyed when Sakura made no move to defend his presence. "I'm not here to attack you. I'm here to pick her up."

Gaara looked surprised. Nothing was said for a few seconds, and as time passed Sakura felt more and more tension. She sighed, she knew she had to say something.

"It's fine. Thank you for your hospitality, Gaara." She kissed him on the cheek out of force of habit. Sasuke frowned from a distance, but she didn't seem to notice. "I'll talk to you soon." and walked down the path towards the gates of Suna.

With each step she approached Sasuke her heart beat quickened and she began to panic. Sakura was trained to handle situations fast and make good decisions in timed situations, but with all her thoughts and anxieties racing through her mind she panicked instead.

She walked right past him, hoping he would just walk along with her without a word. But her heart stopped as soon as he stood in front of her.

"Sakura."

She turned to him abruptly and froze.

Now, she could have been smart and said, "Hello, Sasuke. How can I help you?" She even had her whole speech planned out about how she was willing to be friends with him again in time that took her a week to compose. But Sakura was 17, and she was a heartbroken, anxious mess. So what came out instead was:

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

It was Sasuke's turn to look at her with utter shock. His eyebrows met in the middle. Is she being serious? She seemed calm but he could sense her tense up slightly.

"I'm sorry, I have amnesia." She quickly explained. Why couldn't she come up with a smart escape earlier? "I was injured during the war and I lost my memory." She smiled apologetically. "Should I know you?"

He watched her carefully but she kept the same clueless look on her face. She started to shift uncomfortably under his gaze, so he must have been staring too long.

He finally swallowed. "No." he wasn't sure what compelled him to lie like that. He was truly confused.

"Oh," she smiled a little bigger and extended a hand to shake his. "I'm Sakura. But you apparently already know that. Nice to meet you…?"

He saw the grin on her face which reminded him of 12 year old Sakura, but her eyes seemed a little duller than he remembered. He took her hand skeptically. "Sasuke." As soon as he took her hand he felt a warm sensation in his chest. Her hands were soft and she was so close to him. He wasn't sure what it was but he felt a surge of happiness throughout him. He seemed relieved to see her in person again, talking to him, touching him.

He missed her.

"You're from Konoha?" she suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes." He answered quickly, as if he had lived in Konoha his entire life. "Actually I was sent by Hokage-sama to escort you back."

Sakura suddenly became angry. She had sent Tsunade letters for the past three and a half weeks informing her of her progress, which she wrote back saying it was fine! Why in the world did she think it was okay to send Sasuke, of all people, to go fetch her?

"Oh, I don't need an escort." She tried to smile and push past him but he blocked her path.

"It's the Hokage's orders." He stepped in front of her, towering over her small figure. He was only a few inches away, she could feel the heat radiating off his body. She blushed heavily and stepped back, making an annoyed face.

"Alright." She sidestepped him. "Let's go then."

The rest of the trip home was awkward to say the least. Sakura spend the first hour or so debating with herself if telling Sasuke she had amnesia was really the best idea. Maybe if he knew she doesn't remember him he would leave her alone. She wondered if he could see right through her. He always used to be able to tell what she was thinking and feeling. But that was 12 year old Sakura. Their friendship had been put on a hiatus for almost six years. He shouldn't know a thing about her anymore.

What's done is done though. She already told him she has no memory of her past, so the only thing she could do right now was keep playing along and hope nobody would rat her out.

'Kakashi and Naruto are never going to let me live this down,' she sighed to herself.

"So," he was the first to speak up, something Sakura wasn't used to at all. "How did you lose your memory?"

Sakura's eyes widened as she racked her brain for another answer to his question. "Well," she tried to think back to the last time she saw him.

"Hokage-sama told me I had drained all my chakra using the Strength of a Hundred technique twice, and pushed even further to aid others in battle, causing me to black out by the end of it all." She tried to keep her distance from him for she was afraid if he got close enough he could sense her lying. "I woke up and I couldn't remember my name."

Sasuke had heard of many side effects of chakra exhaustion, but never memory loss. He pondered if maybe she was a special case, or he really just didn't know about such a thing.

When he got quiet, Sakura became paranoid. Maybe he finally called bullshit on her tall tale and was too angry and annoyed to say anything. But after a good ten minutes of traveling he spoke up again.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he kept his eyes forward. She was all but intrigued to see his face. She decided to stay silent for the rest of the trip.

* * *

"It was nice meeting you, Sasuke." She smiled. "I'll let the Hokage know I'm home." She was off before he could stop her. Sasuke groaned. No doubt he was going to get in big trouble once Tsunade finds out he left to go get her. His fear was washed out by anger however.

Sasuke was pissed.

Too much was running through his mind. When he came back to Konoha he did not expect her of all people to be like this. After all that trouble he went through to change himself and win everyone else back, he never expected she would be the last to fall for his Uchiha charm again. She doesn't remember him! He couldn't believe his luck.

He took a deep breath. How could she forget him, of all people? He was a pretty big part of his life. Then again, he was a big _traumatic _part of her life.

"_Hn. You're annoying." She froze at his words and he walked away._

"_You're so useless." She made a face, like he had severely offended her. He turned around, not wanting to see it._

"_Sasuke-kun, I love you so much it hurts!" He was behind her in a flash, thanked her quietly, and she was out before she could respond._

_Sasuke reached for her, chidori in hand. Her eyes widened "Sasuke, don't!"_

He cringed. Maybe those memories weren't things you would want to remember anyway. Maybe her amnesia wasn't terribly troublesome and instead was a blessing and an opportunity for him to right all his wrongs. He has a chance to win her over again, this time starting from scratch. She wouldn't have to repress all the memories of heartbreak she suffered because of him, and they wouldn't get in between a new relationship with her.

Sasuke started walking towards Kakashi's house again with one thing on his mind: Haruno Sakura doesn't remember him.

Hm, he might as well start over.

* * *

**A/N: **Ha! I finally got to this chapter. I guess I have a thing for people having amnesia hahaha. I like pissing Sasuke off hehe. Maybe you'll get to see what happened between Gaara and Sakura next chapter.

On another note, it's getting harder to accommodate for what's been going on in the manga lately . I'm trying!

Follow, fav, and review! I want to try to beat my last multi chaptered story and your feedback means the world to me! They keep me going (:


	6. Things Broken

Six: Things Broken

With a flick of his wrist Sasuke finished another wall. He sighed jumped down the tall ladder. To say that Sasuke was annoyed to be back with limited freedom again, painting houses once more, was an understatement. When the old man who was watching him told him he missed a spot Sasuke's eye almost flickered red.

"Hai," he stepped up on the ladder once more.

No matter how much he hated his current position, Sasuke dealt with it mainly because he did ask for it. He dug himself a hole in the ground and climbed right in. He couldn't really blame anyone for his own mistake. Actually if anything Sasuke wondered how much worse his punishment could have been.

_When the Hokage finally let him into her office she had a look of absolute annoyance plastered on her face. He knew this conversation would not last very long. _

"_What the hell were you thinking?" Sasuke knew he had to play his cards right to get out of this one in one piece. _

"_You realize the other villages still consider you an S ranked criminal right?" she was seething. "Do you know what that can do for Konoha's reputation?" _

_He didn't speak. _

"_Sasuke." She sighed his name really loudly, pinching the bridge of her nose. After a while she spoke again._

"_I don't know if you're aware but Konoha right now is divided into two groups of people: the conservatives and the progressives. The conservatives want Konoha to be kept quiet and isolated to prevent anymore involvement in other villages' conflicts. The progressives, on the other hand, really want to reach out and repair Konoha's relations with the other villages to keep allies and stay on everyone's good side."_

"_So what part do I play in this?"_

"_Your little stunt may have jeopardized the village's position right now," she explained carefully. "in addition to annoying me by disobeying my order to keep you in the village."_

"_Hn."_

"_But I have other things to worry about. I don't need to get involved in your affairs with Sakura."_

"_Affairs?" he suddenly felt a surge of slight embarrassment. "We're not-"_

"_You'll be stuck with D ranked missions for the next few months. If you step out of line again I will assign guard ninja to look after you again."_

_Sasuke grunted, annoyed, but he didn't want to push it. "We're done here, Sasuke. Stay out of trouble."_

Sasuke was growing weary just thinking about the mess he got himself into. There was some good in his failure though. He did get to see Sakura. He painted over the spot and the elder man nodded in satisfaction. He took the paint in his hands and took off.

* * *

Sasuke towered above the small intern. She blushed heavily under his stare. He was becoming slightly impatient. This was the third time this week he tried to see Sakura at the hospital. When she wasn't working she was always either out with someone else, or on a mission.

"I'm sorry Sasuke-san. Sakura-sama is not available right now."

"When will she be?"

"I-I don't know." He raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes she works day and night shift. The only way to see Dr. Haruno is if you're injured. I'm sorry." She bowed lightly and walked off.

* * *

Tenten placed a few pieces of meat in the middle of the table to heat up. Around her sat the girls, chatting happily and enjoying each other's company.

"Ne, this is really nice. Last time we did this was before the war started. I missed you girls."

"I know," Hinata smiled softly. "I'm really glad we're all back safe and sound."

"All of us plus one," Sakura muttered under her breath. Ino glanced at her and giggled.

"Why does Sasuke's presence all of a sudden anger you?"

"It's not that," Sakura poked at the meat in the middle of the table to check if it was ready. When it was nice and warm she took a mouthful and continued to speak. "I'm glad he's safe, I really am." She swallowed. "I just…I can't be around him right now."

"Why not?"

"Yeah, haven't you been waiting to be with him?"

"Don't tell me you're scared, Sakura." Ino warned, her high pitched voice lower than usual.

Sakura groaned. "No that's not it. I may have…lied to him."

"About?" the girls stopped eating and gave Sakura their full attention.

"He thinks I don't remember him."

"Ehh?! How did you get away with that? Ino waved a piece of meat in her face. "What the hell are you playing at?"

"Ino, I don't know, I panicked!" she shoved her hand away. "I didn't mean to. I just really didn't expect him to approach me when he did." When everyone was silent she sighed. "I-I don't know what to do now."

"Okay, well how are you going to keep this up? He'll see right through you!"

Sakura glanced at her best friend sideways. "As if he knows anything about me now…I can outsmart him."

"You're getting cocky, Sakura. How do you know the truth won't come out?"

"I…I don't know." She shrugged carelessly. "It's not like people will tell him unless he asks. And he doesn't even talk to people. Even people he knows."

"Whatever you say," Ino sighed and turned back to her food.

"Let's just try to enjoy this, ne?" Sakura moved closer to Ino, putting on a puppy dog face. "As much as I love your nagging, I really missed my girls too."

Ino chuckled and shoved a piece of meat towards Sakura's face.

* * *

Sasuke's mind was all over the place. He thought once he could be able to train with Naruto he could at least be temporarily distracted. But as he dodged eighty percent of Naruto's shuriken and let a couple cut the sleeves of his shirt, Sasuke decides he really needs to think about something else.

But as soon as he looks up he sees a large Rasen-shuriken coming his way. Barely getting out of the way, Sasuke rolls to his left, right off a small cliff and into a small crack in the ground.

Grunting, Sasuke sat up to see his leg stuck in between a couple rocks.

"Oi teme! Are you okay?" As soon as Naruto came rushing towards the edge of the cliff, a large portion of the earth began to shake. The blonde froze. "Shit."

Sasuke looked at his leg and calculated the trajectory of the large rock that could come down at him.

"_The only way to see Dr. Haruno is if you're injured. I'm sorry."_

He looked back up at Naruto who was terrified to move at this point. He was screaming something about not moving so he could get him out of there but before he could try, two kunai came flying towards him. He dodged both with ease, but watched in horror as the rocks came down on Sasuke's leg.

As the dust cleared up and Sasuke was visible again, Naruto asked once more if he was okay.

Sasuke looked at his damaged leg. "I'm fine."

"You're insane, that's what you are. Let me take you to the hospital."

"Hn." Sasuke shifted and tried to move the boulder. "I can handle it myself."

* * *

Sasuke hopped through the hospital corridor slowly. As he is about to turn a corner a familiar figure ran into him. Flustered, the girl picked up her stuff and avoided eye contact.

"Ah, S-Sasuke-san. S-she was just about to head home." She explained hastily, as if she already knew what he was going to say.

"Ne Mikasa, you really need some confidence if you wanna work front desk." Sakura approached her teasingly. When she caught up to her assistant she looked up to see who she was talking to. "Sasuke. What brings you here?"

"I'm hurt." He stated simply.

Sakura looked at the leg he was dragging along. She sighed.

* * *

"Your Tibia has a large crack down the middle. Your Fibula is also broken and it's pushing on the larger bone. These fractures have dislocated your Patella slightly, which is probably why your knee hurts a lot too. Basically, your lower leg is crushed." She wrote something on the clipboard she was holding. "Oh and you have a few bruised ribs."

Sasuke frowned. He didn't think it was _that _bad.

"So what happened?"

"I was training with Naruto." He stated simply.

"And?"

"I was distracted, I guess. Messed up a jutsu and he snuck up on me." He watched her expression carefully. "I…tripped."

"Down a cliff or...?" she looked at him incredulously. "You couldn't have damaged all these bones at once if you just tripped over yourself." She tried not to laugh.

Sasuke scowled.

"Naruto has told me quite a bit about you." She smirked, her eyes still focused on the leg as she gently ripped the bloody fabric off his leg. Sakura wasn't sure what was giving her the confidence to speak to him like this. For some reason he seemed so calm and open to her. It was very inviting. "He said you've always been good competition. What was so distracting to you?"

"That doesn't matter, Sakura."

The way he sighed and let out her name like it was something he did every day made Sakura's heart pause for a brief second. All of a sudden she missed those days when he would always say her name, whether it was important, or he was just annoyed with her and wanted her to shut up. She kept her eyes down at his leg and began to concentrate her chakra on the broken bones and damaged muscles.

"You say my name like you've known me for a while." She said softly.

When she let out those words she wasn't sure where she was going to go with it. If anything perhaps she just wanted to see if he would crack first. If he would be the weaker one and reveal that they did in fact have a past together. She wanted to know if he would just keep lying to her, and in all honesty, she kind of hoped he would keep this up too.

Part of her actually wasn't sure if he was just keeping up this little façade because he knew she was lying and wanted to see if _she _would crack first.

As awkward as their encounters have been so far since he had returned to Konoha, there was a sense of peace. She felt like she could sometimes just forget what he had done to her in the past whenever she pretended she barely knew who he was. She knew it was wrong, but she was far too afraid of how things would end if the truth came out at this point. After all, there must be a reason he's playing along too. If anything she needed to sort things out first before ever considering telling him she lied.

Sasuke was silent after she said that. She looked up to see if she had annoyed him or something. It surprised her when he was just looking at her. Her heart stopped when they made eye contact. Everything seemed to stop. Sakura felt dizzy all of a sudden. She felt an overwhelming surge of hurt and happiness run through her from her head to her toes.

Suddenly, he grimaced.

When she lost focus she had pumped too much chakra through her right hand, worsening the fracture.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry." She pushed some hair out of her face behind her ear, waiting for some rude remark from the Uchiha. "I'm sorry." She apologized again and kept her focus on his leg. Instead though he stayed silent and waited for her to finish.

Something inside Sasuke felt triumphant. He was still able to distract her from focusing just with his stare. Instead of being annoyed that his damn leg was hurting even more, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn into a barely visible smirk. He suddenly felt confident talking to her.

"Have you considered therapy?"

She looked up in surprise. Therapy for what?

Oh yeah, her amnesia.

"Yes, of course," she nodded, returning to his leg. She shifted it slightly and continued repairing the bones. "For my job. They found out that the first of my memories to be recovered were my medical skills. I mean, there were still some things I had to re-learn, but as far as I know I'm almost caught up with what I used to know."

He watched as she lifted his calf to clean off the blood. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"Are you still being treated?"

She looked a little irritated at his questioning. "Yes."

Sasuke didn't want to push his questioning any farther. If her medical status was all she wanted to talk about regarding her memories that's all he would have to accept for now.

"Can you sit up?" she looked up at him again and he couldn't find a trace of annoyance or anything.

When he sat up and scooted towards the edge of the bed he was significantly closer to her. Sakura hesitated for a moment. She hoped he didn't notice. She took a small deep breath and set her warm hands gently on his chest, finding the irritated areas.

He had a clear view of her face but she was looking down so he couldn't meet her eyes. Sasuke hoped she didn't notice the way his heart began beating slightly faster. Her hands were so warm and therapeutic. He could practically feel her almost breathing onto him.

She was so close, he mused. But at the same time she seemed so far away. The more time they spent in that position the more he wanted to reach out and hug her. The warmth of her hands alone was so comforting it made him morbidly curious how it would feel to have her arms around him again. He wanted to tell her he missed her, and that everything would be okay.

He felt his confidence towards her begin to diminish slightly. It was now or never.

He shifted slightly towards her.

* * *

**A/N: **I feel like this chapter jumped around a lot. I just didn't want it to get hella long. I'm sorry I haven't been updating as fast as usual! School started this week and I'm trying to get settled down and everything. I'm also trying to get inspired a little. I need to see some more SasuSaku in the manga! The anime is balls disappointing.

Review! I've had a couple people give me a little kick start/inspiration to keep writing here and there when I get stuck. I still also enjoy talking to my readers! Tumblr has made me a social butterfly lololol.


	7. Things Asked

Seven: Things Asked

As soon as Sasuke had moved a centimeter towards her she stepped back, happily admiring her work on his leg. She hadn't noticed he tried to advance onto her, for she seemed too happy and oblivious to these small motions.

"There," she looked up to see him looking at her funny. "How does that feel?"

Sasuke pulled his leg towards himself and moved his ankle around. "Fine." It felt incredibly sore, but there was no more stinging, agonizing pain. At his confirmation Sakura smiled bigger and began writing on her clipboard again. He watched her, aware that he was actually frowning, which only made him frown some more.

"You'll need to stay off that foot for a while." She motioned for him to get up off the bed. He watched as she just waited for him to get off the bed by himself.

"I need help." When he kept that scowl on his face instead and requested help Sakura was shocked. She had never known Sasuke to ask for help, especially in a situation he could easily handle himself. After all he did walk all the way to the hospital by himself. She eyed him carefully and left the room.

Sasuke sighed and scooted more towards the edge of the hospital bed. Her distance seemed to annoy him. He never thought he would feel this way, but the lack of Sakura throwing herself at him at any given opportunity was beginning to make Sasuke uncomfortable.

She returned with one crutch. Sakura watched as his annoyance seemed to increase with every passing moment. She couldn't help but giggle a little. "You'll be okay." She assured him.

"Hn." He took the support from her and stood.

"Does anything else hurt?"

He shook his head.

When they returned to the main lobby, her intern was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Ino was there with another patient. When she made brief eye contact with her best friend she had a look of "oh snap, something went down". Sakura motioned for Sasuke to stay where he was while she took his papers to Ino.

They seemed to be talking about something, and it could have been about him but judging by their straight faces Sasuke assumed it was purely work related. She shrugged off her coat and thanked Ino before walking towards his direction again.

She stopped in front of him.

Sasuke stared down at her, unsure of what she wanted. She was just standing there.

When she cleared her throat he realized he was standing in front of the exit. He coughed and apologized.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" he caught her as soon as she pushed the door open. She looked at him, surprised. "Your assistant told me you were going home before you treated me. It's the least I can do."

"Oh, yeah." Then she smiled, though he could see a hint of exhaustion in her face. "But wait, shouldn't _I _be the one walking you home?"

"I'm not completely incompetent." He pouted, hoping to show how annoyed that statement had made him. Instead she found it cute. "You shouldn't be out this late by yourself."

"I'm fine, Sasuke." She pushed through the doors and continued down the path to her house.

He was still following her, however. "I'm going your way anyway."

"You're really persistent aren't you?"

"I've been told."

Sakura sighed and slowed her pace so that he could catch up.

"You're very busy." He stated. "Does one have to be injured to see you?"

She looked up at him funny. That was a strange thing to assume.

"Well I do have a life outside of the hospital, contrary to popular belief. I get off at different times on different days but I actually have a consistent lunch break every day at 1:30pm." She added that last part to emphasize that she wasn't _always _busy, but she never imagined he would commit that to memory. As if he would care.

"What else do you do?"

Sakura was genuinely surprised at his curiosity about her personal life. What was he even playing at? She humored him anyway and told him the story of her everyday life anyway, but he could tell she was trying hard to sound happy for him. Sasuke could feel the tension as they walked and talked. But, he supposed, he should just be thankful she allowed him to accompany her home.

* * *

When Naruto excitedly grabbed everyone by the ear and dragged them out for "Team Seven bonding", the other four ninja didn't expect they would be painting houses to spend time together. If it weren't for the fact that Sasuke couldn't go do anything else but paint houses with his leg and punishment they wouldn't have agreed.

As expected, it was extremely awkward in the beginning. With the tension between Sasuke and Sakura, Sai still getting comfortable around the former, and Kakashi not wanting to make small talk, perhaps awkward was an understatement. Not to mention the secret eating at Naruto.

"_Are you kidding me, Sakura-chan?" Naruto couldn't remember the last time he ever questioned Sakura's plans, but he seriously felt like she was stepping out of line with this one. _

"_No, Naruto, just please don't blow my cover okay?"_

"_That's the most immature thing I've ever heard you come up with." He frowned. "And I'm saying this because I care about you two."_

"_I know, I know," she answered hastily. "I'll fix it, okay?"_

_He looked at her skeptically. _

"_I'll figure it out, Naruto." She put her hands to her hips, irritated at his scolding. She really didn't need this right now. "Give me time."_

So in order to still have his desired bonding time with his best friends, Naruto was forced to lie to Sasuke, claiming he had told Sakura he was bringing him, his childhood friend.

The blonde shook it off and looked at everyone else. He almost felt sorry for how uncomfortable everyone looked. Sakura was keeping her distance by hiding behind Kakashi who was more focused on his book than the task. Sai was intently focused on painting the house perfectly, and would go over any spots the rest of his comrades missed.

Much to their surprise, however, he was the first to speak after a while.

"So how long are you guys going to pretend like you're actually trying to paint this house before it stops being awkward?" Coming from anyone else that would have been rude and intended to be snappy. But Sai was Sai, and Sakura could only sigh at the truth of his words.

"Maybe if we all had better social skills, there wouldn't be a problem." She joked.

"Hey I'm sociable! Everybody loves me."

"Everbody _knows _you." She laughed at his insulted face. "There's a difference."

"You're the most sociable out of all of us, Sakura-chan." Sai spoke up again and she wished he hadn't. "You're the one who has boys trailing after you all the time."

As soon as he mentioned this, awkward silence and a much larger wave of tension flooded everyone. She could have sworn she heard Kakashi and Naruto chuckle at the awkwardness.

"They're just friends." She clarified for no reason.

"But you said-"

"Ne, Naruto, how's Hinata?" she turned around quickly, splashing paint on Sai's face in the process. He frowned, and went back to work. Much to her surprise she got an annoyed grunt instead of some happy, cheesy comment about said girl.

"She's having issues with her family and it's cutting into my time with her." He groaned quietly. It was a miracle he was heard.

"That sounds a little selfish, don't you think?"

"N-no!" he quickly recovered. "It's not that. I want to help her, I just don't know how. I'm tired of seeing her so sad and stressed all the time lately."

"Are you even courting her properly?" It was Sasuke's turn to surprise everyone by speaking up.

"Huh?" Everyone turned to him and Naruto looked at him incredulously. "What do you even know about proper courting?"

"Hn." He scoffed. "I'm an Uchiha."

Naruto made a sound of frustration and turned back to Sakura. "And then there's the issue of who's going to be the next clan leader."

Sai laughed again, "So if you get married to her Hinata-san you would be like the wife."

"Shut up, Sai."

Much to Sakura's surprise everyone began chuckling at the thought of Naruto being the housewife while shy, gentle Hinata ran things around their household.

"Oi, Sasuke." Kakashi finally lowered his book to speak to his former student. "It's strange not seeing you so serious for once."

"Yeah, for a while I thought your face was just permanently etched into a frown." Naruto told him between laughs. He earned a scoff from the Uchiha.

"Naruto, you shouldn't stress over that too much." Sakura chuckled. "What happens between Hinata and her family will happen. What you can do is take her mind off if it for a little while. You said you're tired of seeing her stress? Don't talk about the problems then. Just work for that smile."

"Yeah since when did you go from carefree and always messing around, to so serious trying to solve everyone's problems?" The white haired jounin added.

Naruto smiled at how nice this was. He hadn't felt this close to his family in a long time. Suddenly all his worries were gone.

"You're right." He grinned. It had been years since he last felt a genuine smile tug at the corners of his mouth. "I'll relax," he assured Sakura, then turned to Sasuke, "and find out how to court her properly."

"Are you asking for my help?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Before Naruto could say no Kakashi laughed. "You're going to take dating advice from Uchiha Sasuke?"

They all erupted in laughter again.

The reunited Team Seven hopped from house to house, repainting old run down houses and laying fresh coats on newly build houses. They carried on lighthearted conversations and truly enjoyed each other's company. All was going well, Sasuke thought, until Sakura realized the sun was about to set.

"Oh, crap." She looked frantic.

"What's wrong?"

Sakura shifted uncomfortably. After all these were the boys she grew up with. No doubt they would get incredibly protective if she told them what was going on.

"I promised someone I would meet them before sundown." She explained carefully, watching everyone closely.

"Is it a boy?" Sai asked, genuinely curious. Sakura elbowed him in the ribs lightly. She saw Naruto and Sasuke tense up.

"That's not important." She stepped down from the ladder and put the brush on top of her can of paint.

"Well go ahead, Sakura-chan." Naruto took her supplies for her.

"This was fun. Thank you." She smiled at everyone. "I really missed you-" she saw the look on Sasuke's face: a mixture of confusion and hope. "three. And it was nice hanging out with you too, Sasuke."

She was off before anyone else could say anything. And as soon as the other two left too, Sasuke grabbed the opportunity to speak with Naruto alone.

"Naruto," Sasuke spoke up after a while. "Can we talk?"

"With our fists or…?"

"Hn."

"I'm joking, lighten up." He put his brush down. "You were just in a good mood. What's the problem?"

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, and as soon as he asked his question Naruto cringed. "Is Sakura seeing anyone?"

"Uhh not that I know of." He answered sincerely, but the awkwardness of the question had him looking nervous as hell. "She's not committed to anyone or anything as far as we know."

"Oh." He was quiet again for a while.

"I don't really like it either." Naruto spoke up. "All the attention she's getting from all these boys. I can't stand not knowing what they really want from her."

"Then keep them away."

"She won't let me."

"Then I'll do it." Sasuke snapped. Naruto stayed silent, surprised. A few minutes passed before he asked again, "How do I do it?"

"I don't know, distract her." He wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Take her out. It's easy! Just remember women love gentlemen. Hold the door for her," A smile began forming on his lips again. "Rip the door off its hinges. Use the door as a weapon to fight off other men and establish dominance." Sasuke glared death glares at his best friend for joking at a time like this.

"Sasuke you can't control what Sakura wants to do. She's a big girl now and she can take care of herself." Naruto paused. "Unless that's not it. You're jealous aren't you?"

As Sasuke tried to deny it Naruto's suspicions only grew and his laughter only got louder.

"Whatever," Sasuke scoffed. "Since you can't seem to protect her I'll do it then."

"Ne, teme, that's not it."

"You think it will blow up in my face." He saw right through his best friend and Naruto stopped laughing. It was true. Given, he knew something Sasuke didn't. Still, he actually was afraid everything would go wrong seeing as he now knew both Sasuke and Sakura were playing this game.

"That's not true either."

"Hn."

"She's just been vulnerable since this amnesia thing. It's been hard to get to her." Naruto explained, regretting every second of his playing a part in the lie. "What are you playing at anyway, Sasuke? Why are you acting like you don't know her?"

Sasuke grew annoyed at this question, mostly because he wasn't entirely sure himself what the answer was.

"I don't know," he sighed. "I guess I just wanted a fresh start."

Naruto looked at him with both annoyance and understanding. If this is what he chose to do then it would not be his fault if things went down the toilet. He wasn't sure why he kept trying though. He figured, if he could at least get to Sasuke he could still stop this madness. "Seriously? You don't see how it could backfire if she finds out you lied to her this whole time?"

"She won't," he remained stubborn.

"I don't know, Sasuke." Naruto sighed. "I have a bad feeling about this."

* * *

**A/N: **Wow I'm so sorry. I haven't given up on this I promise. I have like seventy percent of it planned out I just need to find time and inspiration to write. School has been hectic so that's one thing. And all these other things that have been going on in ma life. Don't lose faith in me though I'm going to finish this one for sure!

Honestly, checking my email and getting random feedback is what gets me to open up the damn file and keep writing. So keep it up! (:


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